Some Folk for Sunday

I haven't been anywhere Portland but I hear it's the coolest city on the planet at the moment. This is all hearsay but it seems to be some kind of hipster haven full of creatives  who make music, have a DIY culture, are green and gainfully employed in selling coffee to each other. The latter bit has even reached the concentrated capitalism that is Sydney's city centre where every other greasy spoon cafe and Thai hole in the wall appears to be closing to make way for tastefully decorated places selling organic coffee and small sweets. Anyhow while drinking coffee at one such place I heard Portland band The Decemberists and they grew on me. A lot of their songs have a sort of mythical quality to them and are richly poetic, so right up my alley.  This one, We Both Go Down Together, for e.g is like an updated and quirky version of the kind of songs in which star-crossed lovers plunged to their deaths and works both ways (you may need to click watch on you tube - there are likely some embedding problems). 

As it happens, my knowledge of any kind of music, bar old Hindi songs, is rather poor. I wouldn't be able to name the Decemberists influences. I have never heard the rock, punk staples of my college life, e.g. Pink Floyd and the like. I don't know any new best-selling acts. I have rarely been to concerts. Though I do tend to be drawn towards folk influenced music and have a passing acquaintance with Dylan and Baez. It so happens that folk influenced music is having its day in the sun, albeit it is dappled sunlight and not the blazing summer sun under which Lady Gaga stands.  So I can say with some confidence that I finally have at least a nodding acquaintance with the sounds of the day. So here is another song I have been listening to, this is by Laura Marling whose age belies her gifts. This song was apparently influenced by letters sent from a wife during WWII.